Hyperbaric or high pressure chambers are known to have important medical uses. A hyperbaric chamber is a chamber in which a pressure greater than ambient, over and above the range of pressure variation encountered in the course of normal weather fluctuations, can be achieved. U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,870 provides an example of such a hyperbaric chamber.
Perhaps the most vivid example of the use of hyperbaric chambers is in the treatment of divers suffering from nitrogen narcosis, commonly referred to as the “bends”. It is well known that isolation of such a diver in a high-pressure oxygen atmosphere is one of the few known treatments for this often fatal or crippling condition.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) involves treating a patient with 100% oxygen at greater-than-normal atmospheric pressures. The earth's atmosphere normally exerts approximately 15 pounds-per-square inch of pressure at sea level; that pressure defined as one Atmosphere Absolute (abbreviated as 1 ATA). In the ambient atmosphere, air contains approximately 20% oxygen and 80% nitrogen. While undergoing HBOT, pressure is increased two or three-fold (2 to 3 ATA) in an environment of 100% oxygen.
In addition to the diver bend treatment, medical researchers are continuing to experiment with HBOT in a hyperbaric chamber. Presently, there are many clinical applications for hyperbaric oxygen therapy, such as the treatment of traumatic injury, burns, infection, radiation injury, inflammation, edema, and for the treatment of poisoning (such as carbon monoxide poisoning).